1. Field
The present invention relates to transmission of audiovisual data, and in particular, to transmission of uncompressed audiovisual data over wireless channels.
2. Description of the Related Technology
With the proliferation of high quality video, an increasing number of electronic devices, such as consumer electronic devices, utilize high definition (HD) video which can require about 1 to several Gbps (gigabits per second) in bandwidth for transmission. As such, when transmitting such HD video between devices, conventional transmission approaches compress the HD video to a fraction of its size to lower the required transmission bandwidth. The compressed video is then decompressed for consumption. However, with each compression and subsequent decompression of the video data, some data can be lost and the picture quality can be reduced.
The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification allows transfer of uncompressed HD signals between devices via a cable. While consumer electronics makers are beginning to offer HDMI-compatible equipment, there is not yet a suitable wireless (e.g., radio frequency) technology that is capable of transmitting uncompressed HD video signals. Wireless local area network (WLAN) and similar technologies can suffer interference issues when several devices which do not have the bandwidth to carry the uncompressed HD signals are connected.
Wireless communication systems for transmitting audiovisual data can experience varying wireless channel conditions. Varying wireless channel conditions, particularly channel quality degradation, can adversely affect data transmission quality. In uncompressed audiovisual data transmission, because a large amount of data is transmitted over a wireless channel, channel quality degradation can significantly adversely affect the data transmission quality.
One conventional approach to solve this problem is to switch the data format of the audiovisual data at an audio/video (A/V) input module on the transmission side and an A/V playback module on the receiver side such that the data format fits into the reduced data transmission rate available at the wireless channel. During the data format switching, the audiovisual data stream is temporarily stopped, which results in an interruption in playing back the data. Such an interruption may take a few seconds, which is not favorable to users. Thus, there is a need to provide a wireless system and method which can effectively accommodate channel quality degradation while not adversely affecting audiovisual data playback.